Ohio Woman Sentence to 16 Months in Prison for Theft of Over $41,000 in Government Benefits

A Cleveland woman was sentenced to 16 months in prison for the theft of more than $41,000 in government benefits, said Steven M. Dettelbach, United States Attorney for the Northern District of Ohio.

India N. Parker, 37, will serve her federal sentence after serving a sentence in state prison related to offenses against a human corpse, tampering with evidence and criminal mischief.

Parker pleaded guilty earlier this year in U.S. District Court to two counts of theft of government property and five counts of making false statements.

Parker’s five-year-old daughter died in late 2006. Parker left the child’s remains to decay before putting the body in a trash bag and then in a garbage can in her front yard. A garbage truck then picked up and disposed of the child’s body. The body was never found, according to court documents.

After the child’s death, Parker lied about her daughter’s whereabouts to friends, family and investigators. While she disposed of the body, Parker stole and converted to her own use $40,236 in Social Security payments made to her daughter and $1,393 in food stamp benefits, according to court documents.

She also made false statements to agency representatives by stating that her daughter had been living with her when, in fact, Parker knew that her daughter was deceased during the relevant time frames, according to court documents.

The case was prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney Phillip J. Tripi, following investigation by agents of the Social Security Administration Office of Inspector General.